Lacavera Field will be home of the Irish
A well-respected and beloved name will be attached to the new artificial turf field at Notre Dame.
The Niagara Catholic District School Board and Notre Dame College School announced this week that the Lacavera family has contributed $500,000 toward the installation of the new turf field at the Welland school. The field will be named in honour of the late Honourable Justice Alphonse Thomas Lacavera of the Ontario Court of Justice. Despite his auspicious title and distinguished career, the Notre Dame graduate was a favourite among neighbourhood children. They often called on him to come out to play and they would enjoy a skating rink that he built and maintained in his backyard for many winters.
The Lacavera family has many ties to Notre Dame. Justice Lacavera’s wife, Donna, is a Notre Dame graduate and retired teacher, and their two children, Anthony and Catherine, are also alumni. The younger Lacaveras were recognized as Niagara Catholic Distinguished Alumni in 2016.
The estate of Mrs. Lacavera’s late sister, Loretta Ramella Lopez, and her husband, Anthony Lopez, also contributed to the very generous donation to the new field.
The Lacavera family said they were pleased to make the donation in Judge Lacavera’s name.
The school community is grateful for the Lacavera family’s generosity, Notre Dame principal Andrew Boon said.
“It is truly an incredible act of generosity that will benefit our students and community for years to come,” he said. “On behalf of Notre Dame College School, we thank the Lacavera family and we look forward to them visiting Lacavera Field soon.”
The Lacavera family’s donation is the second major contribution to the new facility. In May 2022, Notre Dame grad Vic Oreskovich donated $225,000 to the fundraising campaign.
“The response from the Notre Dame community has been incredible,” Boon said.
Construction is ahead of schedule and if there are no issues, he expects the field to be ready by the first week of August. Next week, the concrete curbs for the track will be poured. The turf has yet to been laid down yet but the material that goes under the surface is on site.
“It’s exciting,” Boon said. “For the last year and a half it has been meetings and they started in November with phase one. As soon as it started to get dry, they have been out there every day and the kids are seeing it progress really quickly.”
The new facility will include the turf field, a track, a new scoreboard, new stands and the back tennis court will redone into a ball hockey/outdoor basketball venue.
“Whatever it turns into, it is going to be great for students during the day and outside of the school day,” Boon said.
The new Notre Dame College School turf field will officially open Sept. 30 with an afternoon football game during the school’s 75th anniversary weekend.
